La Séparation (1994)

Undescribable Perfection

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is just one more example of why French cinema is the best in the world. No real story, no suspense, no sex, no violence BUT! also no cgi, no slasher movie #24, no Hollywood Formula - The Sequel. In short just two of the finest actors on the planet running with a situation in which virtually out of the blue the wife tells the husband she is in love with another man. It's never that quite out of the blue of course and one of the strengths of this movie is the writing on the wall which is in turn projected onto the screen; the smallest hairline fractures in what, on the surface, is a perfect marriage complete with child. Juliette Binoche is a fine actress, no question, but it is virtually impossible to picture anyone other than Isabelle Huppert in the role of Anne and the same applies to Daniel Auteuil as Pierre, each of them fully inhabits the role in which they have been cast and although there is outstanding support from Jerome Deschamps and Karin Viard it is really superfluous. One of the finest films of the 90s, not just from France but from anywhere but it helps if you go to movies to check out the Human Condition rather than to spray popcorn at each other.

An astonishingly accomplished film - Auteuil and Huppert have done nothing better. Auteuil's performance as Pierre is a measured descent into madness. As an ageing soixante-huitard with a love-rival, he tries to hold onto the idealism of his relationship with Huppert's Anne, succeeding only in compounding the confusion and hurt inevitable through his own unchartered humanism. Huppert is the perfect foil for this, a discreetly neurotic idealist herself, trying to conquer her own confusion beneath the surface and simply increasing Pierre's frustration. An acting masterclass.Vincent provides unblinking coverage of the story as it, literally, unravels. His contributions are subtle: Vertigoesque colour symbolism that informs the psychology of the story (he uses blue, grey and dowdy colours for the men and brighter colours, predominantly red for the women) and sparing music, only topping and tailing the piece with the theme of a suite of variations - a quiet but entirely apposite gesture. Its realism, violence, vitality and unselfconscious intelligence are supremely marshaled in what must be the finest French film I've seen. 9/10

Two of France's great actors give flawless performances as a couple whose marriage is sadly in need of repair. The problem started it seems when they allowed little irritations to accumulate instead of discussing them openly and finding immediate solutions. In a word, this film is about lack of communication between partners. It is so true to life that it's almost painful at times as the couple perpetually nit-pick and argue using hurtful suggestions and criticising every look and gesture. The dialogue is excellent - brief, terse, unforgiving with mounting impatience. As eavesdroppers on their marital problems we become emotionally involved and begin to wonder which of the partners will be the first to crack under the strain. Separation seems inevitable. Early resentments now become uncontrollable outbursts with physical violence. Which partner will leave first? Important to the story is the character of the 18 months old baby, intensely loved by both parents. The sweet innocence of the baby ( Nice little actor!)gives some relief to the bitterness of the sparring parents. Anne asks Pierre:"What made me fall in love with you?" She tells him. The answer will surprise you. The ending of the film may surprise you, too.

Any person who has seen and loved Un coeur en hiver (The Heart in Winter) should see this film as well - it also stars the melancholic Daniel Auteuil. It's almost painful to see him laugh. A film that contrasts the bitterness of betrayal with the sweetness of intimacy, La Séparation delves into the anatomy of a break-up - the growing coolness, lack of concern, estrangement that can exist between two people who still are the primary characters in one another's stories. The couple is not married, but have a home, son, and life in common. Even as they discuss the thing that has come between them, the two cuddle; indeed, were the dialogue silenced for a moment or two, it would be easy to believe they were comforting each other. And indeed, they attempt to soothe each other even as they seem to rend their relationship beyond reconciliation. There is a great reluctance to separate, but is this because of love, comfort, or the fear of starting over? See this movie alone, and don't plan to go dancing afterwards. Buy a bottle of red wine on the way home from the theater (if you are fortunate enough to see it in one).